Written Answers Tuesday 19 January 2010

Scottish Executive

Alcohol

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the introduction of a minimum price for alcohol in Scotland would contravene the terms of Article III.4 of the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government considers that the introduction of a minimum price per unit of alcohol would be capable of complying with Article III.4 of the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade.

Alcohol

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated annual consumption of pure alcohol per litre per head of population of people aged 16 and over would be where this figure took into account the estimated alcohol abstention rate, broken down by gender.

Shona Robison: Data on consumption of pure alcohol are not available. Data on alcohol sales are often used as a proxy for consumption but it should be noted that this does not necessarily measure the same thing.

  The following table provides data on annual sales of pure alcohol, calculated as litres per head of population aged 16+ where the population has been adjusted to exclude those who abstain from alcohol.

  Gender breakdowns are not available. Scottish data are only currently available from 2005 onwards.

  Sales of pure alcohol, litres per head of population aged 16+ (adjusted to exclude abstainers), Scotland:

  Litres of Pure Alcohol Per Head of Population Aged 16+ (Adjusted to Exclude Abstainers)1

  

2005
2006
2007
2008
2008 X3
2009 X2,4


13.5
13.4
13.4
13.2
13.2
13.4



  Source: NHS Health Scotland (data supplied from the Nielsen Company).

  Notes: 

  1. Data relate to calendar years.

  2. Data for 2009 are currently only available up to end September 2009 for on sales and week ending 3 October 2009 for off sales. The figures for 2009X therefore represent the 12 month period to end September 2009 for on sales and week ending 3 October 2009 for off sales.

  3. A comparable period has been provided for 2008 (column titled 2008X) which covers the 12 month period to end September 2008 for on sales and week ending 4 October 2008 for off sales.

  4. The 2009 population is based on a projection as the mid-year estimate is not yet published.

Cancer

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards have evaluated the success of policies designed to increase the uptake rate of breast screening.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS boards who have evaluated the success of policies designed to increase uptake rates are:

  NHS Ayrshire and Arran

  NHS Lanarkshire

  NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Deaf and Hearing Impaired People

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-29132 by Shona Robison on 2 December 2009, for what reason Scotland cannot lead the world in gathering statistics on deaf, deafblind, deafened and hard of hearing people.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government Statistician Group is committed to meeting user and provider needs as well as possible. It aims to provide relevant and reliable statistical information, analysis and advice to government, business and the people of Scotland.

  In order to meet the needs of users and providers, it is proposed that the forthcoming 2011 Census in Scotland will contain a question on long-term health conditions with the aim of gathering statistics on the prevalence of certain broad types of condition in the population. The proposed question contains response categories for deafness and partial hearing loss and blindness or partial sight loss, so it will be possible to obtain accurate statistics on the number of deaf and hard of hearing as an overall category and also the number of people who responded to both the deafness and partial hearing loss and the blindness or partial sight loss category.

  It is also proposed that the forthcoming 2011 Census in Scotland question on languages used at home will contain a category on British Sign Language.

  Work is also ongoing to develop a harmonised question to collect detailed information on disability groups through social surveys. Space is not as restricted in social surveys as it is in the census, which may provide an opportunity to collect more detailed information, on specific categories, in certain surveys. The major social surveys carried out by the Scottish Government have large sample sizes which allow for the provision of accurate, reliable information and can be used to provide population estimates. The Scottish Government will continue to consult with stakeholders throughout this programme of work.

Digital Technology

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Northern Ireland Executive concerning broadband in rural areas.

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of plans in Northern Ireland to invest £48 million in upgrading broadband access and whether it plans to match the targets set by the Northern Ireland Executive.

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when urban areas can expect to receive a minimum of 10 megabytes per second broadband speed.

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when rural areas can expect to receive a minimum of two megabytes per second broadband speed.

Jim Mather: Scottish Government Telecoms Policy officials participate in tri-annual formal meetings with their policy counterparts from both the Northern Irish and Welsh Devolved Administrations.

  The Scottish Government is aware, therefore, of the Northern Ireland Executive’s broadband project which has set a target of providing 85% of businesses with broadband at a minimum speed of 10 Mbps in urban areas, and 2 Mbps in rural areas, and in which the Northern Ireland Executive is investing £18 million (the other c. £30 million being invested by BT).

  The Scottish Government recognises that broadband is a vital tool for businesses and households and have already made significant progress in improving broadband access across Scotland, thereby giving our rural businesses a competitive advantage.

  Our Broadband Reach Project, which successfully completed in May 2009, has provided an affordable, basic broadband service to the demand known to the Scottish Government, in the (less than) 1% of the population previously unable to access a broadband service due to distance from the exchange. The project has already delivered a service to over 2,300 premises and we are now provisioning late project registrants, which will continue until March 2010, while project funding remains. And, in December 2009, we announced that we had agreed with BT a programme of telephone exchange upgrades in which BT will be upgrading 71 capacity-constrained exchanges during 2010. This will further improve broadband coverage in Scottish rural areas.

  The Scottish Government’s current commitment extends to provision of a basic broadband service (defined as 512 kbps), to known demand. We are, however, in the early stages of defining our approach towards next-generation broadband and are progressing activity to deliver an updated evidence-base which will inform policy development in this area. I have already hosted an industry seminar, and officials are currently in the process of commissioning research and engaging with relevant public and private sector interests to take this forward.

Drug Misuse

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many residential drugs services, including residential crisis and supported accommodation services, existed in 2006 and how many there are now.

Fergus Ewing: In 2006, the Review of Residential Drug Detoxification and Rehabilitation Services in Scotland found there were 352 beds available for drug treatment in Scotland, situated across 22 services. These did not include residential crisis and supported accommodation services. The full report can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/180429/0051272.pdf.

   The National Directory of Drug Treatment Services, maintained by the Scottish Drugs Forum, lists 27 residential services with 446 beds. This includes one residential drug crisis centre with 12 beds. No services listed in the directory as residential have identified themselves as supported accommodation services.

  The number of beds does not equate to the number of places available which depends on occupancy rates and length of programme.

Electricity

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the ministerial statement by the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism on 6 January 2010 (Official Report c. 22407), when it expects construction work on the Beauly to Denny power line upgrade to start.

Jim Mather: The consent conditions require construction to begin within four years, although Scottish and Southern Energy have indicated they hope to begin work on the project in 2010.

Electricity

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the ministerial statement by the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism on 6 January 2010 (Official Report c. 22407), when it expects construction work on the Beauly to Denny power line upgrade to be completed.

Jim Mather: The consent conditions require that all works, including construction of the new line and dismantling of the existing line, be completed within 10 years. However, renewable energy development imperatives exist for the developers to complete work much sooner.

Electricity

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the ministerial statement by the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism on 6 January 2010 (Official Report c. 22408), how many kilometres of the 86.5 kilometres of existing wirescape ministers will require developers to place underground.

Jim Mather: Plans submitted to Scottish ministers to mitigate the wirescape in five distinct locations, as required by conditions, must include proposals for undergrounding, removing or mitigating a total of 86.5km of overhead line. It is therefore not possible to provide a definitive answer on the specific length of wirescape which will be undergrounded until proposals from developers for the various rationlisation schemes have been agreed in line with consent conditions.

Electricity

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the ministerial statement by the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism on 6 January 2010 (Official Report c. 22407), whether consultations with an environmental liaison group and a tourism, cultural heritage and community liaison group will lead to a delay in the start of construction work.

Jim Mather: Scottish and Southern Energy have already indicated they intend to begin their public engagement at an early stage. The developers’ engagement will include consultation with the Environmental Liaison Group and Tourism, Cultural Heritage and Community Liaison Group. I do not anticipate this resulting in any significant delay. Consultation with these groups will be an ongoing process throughout construction.

Electricity

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the ministerial statement by the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism on 6 January 2010 (Official Report c. 22407), which conditions attached to the consent for the Beauly to Denny power line upgrade will require significant adjustment to the developers’ existing plans.

Jim Mather: Until proposals from developers for the various mitigation plans have been agreed in line with consent conditions, it is not possible to determine which conditions attached to the consent will require significant adjustment to the developers’ existing plans.

Electricity

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the ministerial statement by the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism on 6 January 2010 (Official Report c. 22407), whether new planning consents will be required as a result of the conditions attached to the consent for the Beauly to Denny power line upgrade.

Jim Mather: I do not anticipate any new planning applications as a result of the conditions, however until proposals from developers for mitigation plans have been agreed in line with the consent conditions, this cannot be definitively ruled out.

Electricity

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will release all advice that it took on alternatives to the Beauly to Denny power line upgrade application, such as subsea cables, undergrounding and upgrading the east coast pylon route.

Jim Mather: All evidence submitted to the public local inquiry will be published on the Scottish Government’s website as soon as possible. This is a huge task, so the information will appear gradually over the coming weeks as it is added to the system.

Enterprise

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the US Government in the last two years regarding its ban on importing Scottish haggis.

Richard Lochhead: The US import ban on haggis remains in place. It’s a great pity that the American authorities are denying ex-pat Scots and other US consumers the chance to enjoy the delights of this world renowned delicacy, with Burns Night just around the corner.

  Given that haggis is perfectly safe to eat, the US market could have real potential for our producers and Scottish ministers hope that the American authorities will reconsider this longstanding import ban.

Finance

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on the City Square Project in Aberdeen.

Alex Neil: I can confirm that we have had no financial involvement with the development of proposals for the City Square Project in Aberdeen

Finance

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its 2009-10 budget is for the City Square Project in Aberdeen.

Alex Neil: The City Square Project in Aberdeen is a local development proposal and as such there is no provision for this project in our 2009-10 budget.

General Register Office for Scotland

Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the General Register Office for Scotland regarding the transfer of data from microfilm and microfiche to digital format.

Jim Mather: None: the transfer was completed in 2004.

General Register Office for Scotland

Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware that microfilm and microfiche facilities are to be withdrawn from the General Register Office for Scotland.

Jim Mather: I understand that, while the digital images of census and other records give much faster and more convenient access to the records, the paper documents and the microfilm and microfiche will remain available when necessary – for instance where the digital image, created from the microfiche and microfilm, is inadequately legible.

General Register Office for Scotland

Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will intervene if there are proposals to destroy microfilm and microfiche data held by the General Register Office for Scotland once they have been transferred to digital format.

Jim Mather: There are no such proposals.

Gypsies/Travellers

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors take-up of the model tenancy agreement for Gypsies/Travellers developed by the former Advisory Committee on Scotland’s Travelling People.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government does not routinely monitor the take-up of the model tenancy agreement developed by the Advisory Committee on Scotland’s Travelling People.

Gypsies/Travellers

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it assesses local authority homelessness and social housing policies for compliance with section 106 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, particularly in relation to Gypsies/Travellers.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) inspects the housing and homeless services of local authorities. The SHR always assess landlords’ approaches to diversity and equality on inspections and through a range of other regulatory engagements. The SHR undertook a thematic study in 2002 and 2006 to assess how well social landlords promote equal opportunities and take into account the requirements of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001. The SHR also undertook a thematic study into services for Gypsies/Travellers in 2002 and 2006. 

  The SHR considers the need for thematic inspections on an annual basis from emerging policies and priorities and will consider the need for a future thematic inspection of services for Gypsies/Travellers on this basis.

Health

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities failed to return respite care data to Audit Scotland in the years previous to 2008-09.

Shona Robison: All local authorities in Scotland collected and returned to Audit Scotland respite care data for 2003-04, 2004-05, 2006-07 and 2007-08. In 2005-06 Fife Council did not return data.

Health

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have been identified as double counting respite weeks.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government published on 15 December 2009 in an Official Statistics Publication provisional figures for respite weeks in 2008-09 by each local authority in Scotland. All figures are being further validated before publication of final figures, scheduled for February 2010. Until we have completed the validation work, it is not possible to say if there has been a misinterpretation of the guidance by authorities or how many and which authorities may have double-counted respite weeks due to a misinterpretation. The publication containing the final data for 2008-09 will include an explanation of the figures.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the per capita spend is on health in each NHS board area.

Nicola Sturgeon: Details are as follows:

  Per Capita Spend 2008-09 (£)

  

NHS Board
 


Ayrshire and Arran
1,789


Borders
1,694


Dumfries and Galloway
1,828


Fife 
1,605


Forth Valley 
1,561


Grampian
1,459


Greater Glasgow and Clyde
1,888


Highland 
1,872


Lanarkshire
1,619


Lothian
1,444


Orkney
2,203


Shetland
2,115


Tayside
1,776


Western Isles
2,683

Health

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has produced a response on a European action in the field of rare diseases; what that response is, and whether it will be submitted as part of a UK response or independently.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Executive has not produced a response to a European Council recommendation in the field of rare diseases as it has no function in this regard.

  The Scottish Executive has however processes in place to address rare diseases and has taken the opportunity to comment upon and support the UK position in its response to the European Council.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the percentage breakdown is of NHS outpatients by department.

Nicola Sturgeon: The number and percentage of new outpatient attendances broken down by clinical specialty for financial year ending 31 March 2009 is shown in the following table.

  Table: NHSScotland New Outpatient Attendances by Specialty. Financial Year Ending 31 March 2009

  

Specialty
Number of New Outpatient Attendances
Percentage of Total New Outpatient Attendances


Adolescent Psychiatry
1,955
0.1


Allergy
378
0.0


Anaesthetics
8,630
0.6


Cardiology
38,667
2.7


Cardiothoracic Surgery
4,132
0.3


Child Psychiatry
3,396
0.2


Chiropodists/podiatrists
3
0.0


Clinical Chemistry
31
0.0


Clinical Genetics
4,389
0.3


Clinical Oncology
12,001
0.8


Communicable Diseases
4,100
0.3


Dermatology
113,125
7.8


Diagnostic Radiology
171
0.0


Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)
102,920
7.1


Endocrinology & Diabetes
17,435
1.2


Forensic Psychiatry
519
0.0


Gastroenterology
49,421
3.4


General Medicine
46,049
3.2


General Psychiatry
31,026
2.1


General Surgery
159,915
11.0


Genito-Urinary Medicine
35,892
2.5


Geriatric Medicine
15,118
1.0


GP Obstetrics
90
0.0


GP Other than Obstetrics
27,227
1.9


Gynaecology
101,716
7.0


Haematology
11,436
0.8


Homeopathy
1,687
0.1


Immunology
340
0.0


Learning Disability
1,096
0.1


Medical Oncology
4,142
0.3


Medical Paediatrics
28,643
2.0


Nephrology
5,428
0.4


Neurology
31,053
2.1


Neurosurgery
7,663
0.5


Obstetrics
57,065
3.9


Ophthalmology
122,598
8.4


Orthopaedics
190,609
13.1


Oral Medicine
4,195
0.3


Oral Surgery
41,520
2.9


Orthodontics
10,963
0.8


Paediatric Dentistry
6,390
0.4


Palliative Medicine
786
0.1


Plastic Surgery
23,168
1.6


Psychiatry of Old Age
14,307
1.0


Rehabilitation Medicine
3,368
0.2


Respiratory Medicine
25,306
1.7


Restorative Dentistry
9,906
0.7


Rheumatology
20,365
1.4


Surgical Paediatrics
7,738
0.5


Urology
48,054
3.3


Total
1,456,132
100.0



  Source: ISD Scotland, ISD(s)1.

  Figures relating to previous years are available on the ISD website at: 

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/4156.html.

Homelessness

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when its most recent survey was carried out on the number of people sleeping rough.

Alex Neil: Figures on rough sleeping are now collected by local authorities through the HL1 form. Applicants are asked if they slept rough the night before applying for assistance. In 2008-09, 5% of applicants slept rough the night before applying for assistance. The Scottish Government no longer carries out twice yearly rough sleeper surveys. The last survey was carried out in 2003, coinciding with the then Scottish Executive’s target to eliminate the need to sleep rough by 2003.

Homelessness

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what figure was established in its most recent survey of the number of people sleeping rough.

Alex Neil: Figures on rough sleeping are now collected by local authorities through the HL1 form. Applicants are asked if they slept rough the night before applying for assistance. In 2008-09, 5% of applicants slept rough the night before applying for assistance. The Scottish Government no longer carries out twice yearly rough sleeper counts.

Homelessness

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is sufficient hostel capacity to accommodate the number of people sleeping rough.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government does not collect figures on the number of available hostel beds. Figures on rough sleeping are collected by local authorities though the HL1 form. Applicants are asked if they slept rough the night before applying for assistance. In 2008-09, 5% of applicants slept rough the night before applying for assistance. It is the duty of individual local authorities to plan how best to meet the accommodation needs of rough sleepers and hostel style accommodation may not always be the most appropriate accommodation solution for meeting the needs of those sleeping rough.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, regarding local authorities that successfully applied for additional funding for building houses in 2009, how much the cost of that building added to the housing debt of each authority.

Alex Neil: The local authorities that have been successful in applying for additional funding for building houses in the first two rounds of Scottish Government’s Council House New Build programme are published here: 

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/16342/housebuilding/allocations1209. 

  The answer to the question S3W-29984 on 11 January 2010 provides information on the housing debts of each of these (and the remaining) authorities.

  In their applications for new build funding, local authorities were asked how much borrowing in addition to other sources of funding they expected to undertake if their bid was approved in total. Not all bids were accepted in total and therefore it is not possible to give an exact figure for how much additional borrowing will be required for new build following any changes to financial plans. Changes in rent levels, operating costs, interest rates, capital asset sales as well as whether the cost of construction comes in on budget, will all affect the amount that ultimately needs to be borrowed. Taking into account these qualifications, rounds 1 and 2 of the council new build programme may require additional local authority borrowing in the region of £200 million across the 22 local authorities that were successful in one or both of the rounds. 

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Audit Scotland plans to examine the housing debt of local authorities.

Alex Neil: Audit Scotland audits local authorities on behalf of the Accounts Commission. The audit of best value provides independent assurance on whether local authorities manage their finances and resources efficiently and effectively. I understand that Audit Scotland has no special plans to examine the housing debt of local authorities beyond the scope of its normal audit work.

Housing

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many members the private rented housing panel has and whether it will list them.

Alex Neil: The Private Rented Housing Panel currently has 37 members. The list of members is available on the Private Rented Housing Panel’s website.

  http://www.prhpscotland.gov.uk/prhp/files/Members%20list%20jan%202010.doc.

Justice

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of illegal use of airsoft guns were recorded in (a) 2007, (b) 2008 and (c) 2009.

Fergus Ewing: Statistics on firearm and air weapon offences in Scotland are available in the bulletin Recorded Crimes and Offences Involving Firearms, Scotland, 2008-09. Some offences involving airsoft guns may be recorded within the categories of imitation firearms, air weapons, unidentified and other weapons. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/10/26113527/0.

  Specific information about illegal use of airsoft weapons is not collected centrally.

Justice

Angela Constance (Livingston) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many ex-service personnel are subject to a (a) community service and (b) probation order.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.

Justice

Angela Constance (Livingston) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to raise awareness of the needs of current and former service personnel in the criminal justice system.

Kenny MacAskill: Current and ex-service personnel are subject to the law but there are various ways that the justice system takes into account the individual circumstances of those who come before it. For example, accused persons will normally have access to legal advice that will allow them to put relevant information before the court. If a person is convicted, social enquiry reports will highlight relevant factors in the offender’s background, and there are specific disposals and programmes aimed at offenders with specific needs such as treatment for substance misuse or mental health issues.

Justice

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many offenders (a) subject to a community service order and (b) in detention were deployed to help in communities affected by adverse weather conditions on each day since 18 December 2009.

Kenny MacAskill: Information for the full period requested is not held centrally. In response to a request for information on numbers of offenders on community service involved in work to combat the winter weather in the week 5 to 12 January, however, 29 out of 32 local authorities have submitted returns. The information shows that there were 2,071 individuals on community service orders and probation orders who were engaged in this work. This represents 15,205 hours of work and amounts to 60.1% of the 3,444 offenders local authorities have told us were available for work.

  The type of work being done has involved, among other duties, clearing snow and ice from pavements and driveways around hospitals, schools and homes for the elderly and other vulnerable people across Scotland. This work began with the onset of the winter weather before Christmas.

  Three prisoners have been helping to clear snow in the community.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the Scottish Court Service has spent on interpretation services in each month of the last three years.

Kenny MacAskill: The monthly costs (in £s) incurred by Scottish Court Service on interpretation services over the past three years are as detailed in the following table.

  

 
2007
2008
2009


January
73,559
77,244
52,340


February
88,136
65,446
125,563


March
51,603
73,581
124,683


April
36,908
53,140
53,752


May
40,342
64,484
126,908


June
75,930
49,336
141,267


July
93,015
29,361
148,527


August
77,136
173,470
64,443


September
77,256
84,197
148,916


October
73,439
85,741
25,105


November
87,610
87,794
122,658


December
43,949
136,423
110,617

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost to provide interpretation by a single interpreter in a court case (a) was prior to and (b) is under the new Framework Contract for the Provision of Interpreting, Translation and Transcription Services.

Kenny MacAskill: The information sought is not currently available owing to the short time that has elapsed since Scottish Court Service opted in to the framework contract.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the new Framework Contract for the Provision of Interpreting, Translation and Transcription services will save the Scottish Court Service money and, if so, how much.

Kenny MacAskill: The framework contract provides for a more efficient procurement process for all collaborative partners. Requests for interpretation and translation services are demand driven.

  Being party to the framework contract ensures that Scottish Court Service benefits from the best commercial rates available through open competition.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the introduction of the new Framework Contract for the Provision of Interpreting, Translation and Transcription services was motivated by a desire to reduce costs.

Kenny MacAskill: The collaborative procurement was intended to improve the quality of service and deliver improved value for money through reducing duplicated procurement effort on the part of the courts (prior to introduction of the contract each court purchased individually). We are not aware of any evidence to suggest that the new arrangements have adversely affected the quality of interpreting services provided to the Scottish Criminal Justice System. The new contracts are monitored and to date there have been no reports of contractors failing to meet agreed levels of service.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many interpretation assignments have been undertaken by the Scottish Court Service in each month of the last two years, broken down by interpreters (a) with and (b) without a Diploma in Public Service Interpreting.

Kenny MacAskill: Information sought relative to the period prior to the inception of the Framework Contract for the Provision of Interpreting, Translation and Transcription Services is not held centrally.

  The information for the period since the Scottish Court Service opted in to the Framework Contract in August 2009 is set out in the following table. The contractors are required to increase the numbers of interpreters with DPSI qualifications year on year, the progress of which will be monitored by government officials.

  

2009
Assignments
DPSI
Non-DPSI


August
217
36
181


September
339
75
264


October
660
110
550


November
792
159
533


December
508
114
394



  The final column of the table indicates the number of interpreters attending court in that period who did not hold the DPSI accreditation, but who held equivalent qualifications or experience in the requested language, and which qualifications and experience have been considered satisfactory by the court.

Justice

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of plans for a new community payback order in the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill, whether it plans to make changes to the work placement component of community sentences and, if so, what changes.

Fergus Ewing: The proposed new Community Payback Order will provide for a condition of "unpaid work or other activity" to be made. This condition will replace the existing unpaid work provisions currently available under a community service order, an unpaid work condition imposed under a probation order, and an unpaid work component of the supervised attendance order used in cases of fine default.

  The main changes will be in relation to the immediacy and speed with which offenders commence and complete their orders. These changes are aimed at making unpaid work provisions more robust and providing faster and more effective payback to communities.

  The legislation will include a provision that the time for completion of an unpaid work requirement is reduced from the current 12 months to six months. Further to this, operational guidance will require that offenders commence their work placements within a maximum of seven working days of the order being made instead of the previous maximum of 21 days.

  In addition to help ensure that the work done reflects local needs, the bill also proposes a formal requirement on local authorities to consult communities and local interest groups on the type of work they wish to see undertaken in their area.

Local Government Expenditure

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on bottled water by each local authority in each year since 1999.

John Swinney: This information is not held centrally.

Local Government Finance

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which of its funding streams available to local authorities have been under-subscribed in the last two years.

John Swinney: The vast majority of the funding provided by the Scottish Government to local authorities is provided by means of a block grant. Local authorities retain any under spend associated with this block grant. The remainder of the funding is provided by means of ring-fenced grants. In the last two years the only ring-fenced grants that have been under-subscribed have been the Criminal Justice Social Work, paid directly to the Criminal Justice Authority (£5.38 million in 2008-09 and £0.6 million in 2009-10), and the Fire Capital Grant (for 2009-10 only of £0.410m).

MSP Enquiries

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timescale is within which its agencies should respond to enquiries from MSPs.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government and its agencies are expected to respond to all enquiries, including those from MSPs, within 20 working days.

Mental Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how successful the telephone-based cognitive behaviour therapy pilot scheme has been in terms of uptake and outcomes and what steps it is taking to roll out the scheme nationally.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government is currently funding two telephone-based CBT pilot schemes: NHS Living Life, managed by NHS24, and WISH (Widening Access to Self Help), managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Both pilots are currently subject to independent evaluation and it is therefore too early to provide information on uptake and outcomes or to anticipate next steps and potential rollout.

  The NHS Living Life pilot will run to August 2010. The evaluation, which will inform any further developments, is expected to be ready in spring 2010. NHS24 have reported that referral rates have been lower than anticipated; NHS24 are currently looking at the reasons for this as they have capacity to handle more referrals.

  The Wish Pilot is scheduled to run to March 2011. The evaluation findings will be available shortly thereafter and again will be used to inform any further developments.

Mental Health

Angela Constance (Livingston) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many ex-service personnel serving a community sentence have a mental health problem.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.

Ministerial Correspondence

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth will write to provide the information requested in S3W-21590 in line with his holding response of 20 March 2009.

John Swinney: The information requested in S3W-21590 was not available in time to meet the original deadline and a holding response was issued on 20 March 2009. I wrote to the member on 15 January 2010 with this information and an apology for the delay in its provision. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 47911).

Ministerial Meetings

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings have taken place between ministers and officials of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution since May 2007 and what subjects were discussed.

Fergus Ewing: Since May 2007 the First Minister has met with representatives from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) on three occasions, in relation to the following matters. In addition, a number of specific meetings between Scottish Government officials and the RNLI have taken place since May 2007, but the exact number is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The First Minister’s meetings are:

  1 December 2008 

  Meeting to discuss charity Christmas card with beneficiaries, including RNLI at which various other issues were discussed.

  8 December 2008 

  Launch of charity Christmas card, beneficiaries including RNLI attended.

  14 August 2009 

  Event for the sale of the Bellany painting (First Minister’s charity Christmas card) at Lyon & Turnbull at which RNLI attended. As one of four charities benefiting from the Bellany sale, the RNLI received £2,500. They also received six limited edition signed prints to help them raise additional funds.

Pharmacies

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-25345 by Shona Robison on 21 July 2009, whether ministers will publish any information or advice from Community Pharmacy Scotland on the operation of the direct-to-pharmacy scheme.

Shona Robison: Information on the operation of Direct to Pharmacy schemes was provided to Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) by their members. CPS has shared this information with the Scottish Government as it relates to difficulties in the medicines supply chain. The Scottish Government has no plans to publish the information.

Public Sector Staff

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28849 by John Swinney on 18 November 2009, which public bodies were contacted regarding a waiver of bonuses.

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28849 by John Swinney on 18 November 2009, how the chairs of the NDPBs and public corporations were selected.

John Swinney: On 5 June 2009, I wrote to all chairs of relevant public bodies, drawing attention to the Scottish Government’s Public Sector Pay Policy for Senior Appointments 2009-10. I also asked chairs, whose chief executives’ remuneration arrangements include consideration for a bonus, to invite these chief executives to consider waiving all or part of any bonus that might be due to them in 2009-10.

  The remuneration arrangements of the following chief executive posts includes consideration for a bonus:

  Bord Gaidhlig na h-Alba

  Cairngorms National Park Authority

  Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd

  Highlands & Islands Airports Ltd

  Highlands and Islands Enterprise

  Learning and Teaching Scotland

  Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park

  National Galleries of Scotland

  National Library of Scotland

  National Museums of Scotland

  Royal Botanic Garden (Edinburgh)

  Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments in Scotland

  Scottish Arts Council

  Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration

  Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission

  Scottish Enterprise

  Scottish Environment Protection Agency

  Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council

  Scottish Legal Aid Board

  Scottish Legal Complaints Commission

  Scottish Natural Heritage

  Scottish Qualifications Authority

  Scottish Screen

  Scottish Water

  Skills Development Scotland

  sportscotland

  Visit Scotland

  Water Industry Commission for Scotland.

Public Sector Staff

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28849 by John Swinney on 18 November 2009, whether it has requested that all (a) executive agencies, (b) non-ministerial directorates, (c) public corporations, (d) executive NDPBs, (e) advisory NDPBs, (f) tribunals, (g) commissioners and ombudsmen, (h) NHS bodies and (i) other significant national bodies consider some pay or bonus restraint and, if so, which bodies and how this has been requested.

John Swinney: In the current financial climate, we are wholly committed to ensuring that public sector pay settlements in Scotland remain moderate, affordable and sustainable, using the resources available in the best possible way. This is reflected in the Scottish Government’s pay policy for 2009-10. I wrote to chairs of NDPBs and public corporations when the Pay Policy for Senior Appointments issued in June 2009.

  Scottish ministers have already taken a pay freeze in 2009-10. A pay freeze will also apply to senior civil servants from 2010-11. The Scottish Government has agreed to extend this approach to the highest paid people across the public sector whose pay arrangements come under the Scottish Government’s control. We will discuss the detailed implementation of this policy and further announcements will follow when we publish our Pay Policy on Senior Appointments for 2010-11 shortly.

Public Sector Staff

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28849 by John Swinney on 18 November 2009, how much would be saved if the chairs of all (a) executive agencies, (b) non-ministerial directorates, (c) public corporations, (d) executive NDPBs, (e) advisory NDPBs, (f) tribunals, (g) commissioners and ombudsmen, (h) NHS bodies and (i) other significant national bodies waived all of any bonuses proposed during 2009-10.

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what calculations it has made of the amount of money that could be saved if the chairs of non-departmental public bodies and public corporations agreed to waive some or all of any bonuses proposed during 2009-10.

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28849 by John Swinney on 18 November 2009, whether it had made a calculation of the possible savings before contacting the chairs of non-departmental public bodies and public corporations regarding waiving their bonuses.

John Swinney: Bonuses are not paid to chairs of the bodies listed in the question.

Public Sector Staff

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether award or bonus schemes for which it has responsibility, including those relating to non-departmental public bodies but excluding the consultants’ distinction awards, are reflected in the calculation of final pensions.

John Swinney: The pay award and bonus arrangements for which ministers have responsibility vary considerably across the public sector, depending upon the business needs of the public body or sector. In the main, annual pay awards incorporate three main elements: a basic pay award; a progression or consolidated performance payment, and where eligible, a performance bonus. Generally, the first two elements are consolidated into basic pay and as such are included in the calculation of final pension. Bonuses are defined as non-consolidated payments that are not consolidated into base pay. They are not pensionable and are used to reward exceptional performance.

Roads

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many tonnes of salt and grit it has in reserve to deal with the extreme weather conditions.

John Swinney: Responsibility for maintaining Scotland’s public roads and footpaths, including the purchase and use of road salt, sits with local authorities and trunk road operators. The Scottish Government does not therefore hold significant reserves of salt or grit for allocation to councils and operators.

  I also refer the member to the answer to question S3W-30519 on 18 January 2010 which is available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: 

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Roads

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the respective legal responsibilities are of the householder and local authority where an accident occurs on a pavement cleared of snow by the householder.

John Swinney: Any legal responsibility for an accident would depend on the particular circumstances and ultimately a court would determine whether any person had acted reasonably or had caused or contributed to the accident through their careless or reckless action. Householders who take reasonable measures to clear a pavement outside their home would not normally attract legal liability for subsequent accidents and while a roads authority is expected to take reasonable steps to keep public roads and pavements clear, it is entitled to prioritise and target resources accordingly. Any pedestrian using a footpath in winter conditions would be expected to take care for their own safety.

Scottish Development International

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it provides to Scottish Development International.

Jim Mather: Scottish Development International (SDI) is a joint venture between the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Its budget for 2009-10 was £24.3 million.

  The majority of Scottish Development International’s budget, £21.7 million, comes from Scottish Enterprise’s grant-in-aid budget. SDI was also allocated £1.7 million from Scottish Government to cover the salary costs of its Scottish Government employees. In addition, SDI received £0.7 million from the Scottish Government to support its work in the Scottish regions and £0.2 million from Scottish Government in support of its work in the education sector.

Smoking

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been (a) allocated to and (b) spent on smoking cessation services and related tobacco control activity in each year since 2006-07, also (i) expressed in real terms and (ii) broken down by NHS board.

Shona Robison: The following table contains a breakdown by health board of smoking cessation allocations/spend. 

  

 Health Board
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09
 2009-10


 Actual
 Actual
 Real Terms
 Actual
 Real Terms
 Actual
 Real Terms


 Ayrshire and Arran
 £387,000
 £542,000
 £530,161
 £542,000
 £510,759
 £542,000
 £502,032


 Borders
 £118,000
 £170,000
 £166,287
 £170,000
 £160,201
 £170,000
 £157,464


 Dumfries and Galloway
 £160,000
 £231,000
 £225,954
 £231,000
 £217,685
 £231,00
 £213,966


 Fife
 £326,000
 £462,000
 £451,909
 £462,000
 £435,371
 £462,000
 £427,932


 Forth Valley
 £264,000
 £373,000
 £364,853
 £373,000
 £351,500
 £373,000
 £345,495


 Grampian
 £418,000
 £597,000
 £583,960
 £597,000
 £562,589
 £597,000
 £552,977


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 £2,096,000
 £2,569,000
 £2,512,887
 £2,569,000
 £2,420,924
 £2,569,000
 £2,379,559


 Highland
 £323,000
 £455,000
 £445,062
 £455,000
 £428,774
 £455,000
 £421,448


 Lanarkshire
 £936,000
 £1,147,000
 £1,121,947
 £1,147,000
 £1,080,887
 £1,147,000
 £1,062,419


 Lothian
 £1,048,000
 £1,311,000
 £1,282,365
 £1,311,000
 £1,235,435
 £1,311,000
 £1,214,326


 Orkney
 £35,000
 £53,000
 £51,842
 £53,000
 £49,945
 £53,000
 £49,092


 Shetland
 £41,000
 £59,000
 £57,711
 £59,000
 £55,599
 £59,000
 £54,649


 Tayside
 £790,000
 £949,000
 £928,272
 £949,000
 £894,300
 £949,000
 £879,020


 Western Isles
 £58,000
 £82,000
 £80,209
 £82,000
 £77,274
 £82,000
 £75,953


 Total
 £7,000,000
 £9,000,000
 £8,803,419
 £9,000,000
 £8,481,244
 £9,000,000
 £8,336,331



  Notes: 

  1. The figures above include £2 million per annum in support of the Keep Well projects in Greater Glasgow (£800,000 p.a.), Lanarkshire (£400,000 p.a.), Lothian (£400,000 p.a.) and Tayside health boards (£400,000 p.a.). 

  2. Additional to the funding outlined above £2 million per annum is contained in NHS board baselines from the "Smoking Kills and Health Improvement Fund".

  3. The values have been adjusted to real terms using the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). Ratios were calculated for each year relative to 2006-07. Figures were not available for the full year 2009-10 so the CPI from April to November 2009 has been used instead.

  In addition a smoking cessation service was introduced as part of the community pharmacy contract at end August 2008. The following figures represent payments to community pharmacies providing a smoking cessation service.

  2008-09 until September 2008 to March 2009.

  (part year service began end August 2008) = £3,461,230*.

  2009-10 until April to October 2009 (latest available figures) = £2,079,356.

  *The 2008-09 figure includes one-off readiness and administration payments to each pharmacy providing a smoking cessation service to cover set up and training costs.

  An additional £9 million (£4.5 million to NHS boards and £4.5 million to local authorities) has also been allocated for 2008-09 to 2010-11 to support "Scotland’s future is smoke-free: A Smoking Prevention Action Plan". This represents a significant increase in Scottish Government investment to tackle tobacco problems.

Smoking

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest estimated percentage is of smokers in Scotland, also broken down by gender, and what information it has on how these figures compare with the corresponding information for Sweden.

Shona Robison: The following information is available on smoking prevalence in Scotland and in Sweden.

  For Scotland, the most recent information available is from 2008, when 25.2% all of those aged 16+ smoked. By sex the figure was 24.9% and 25.4% for males and females respectively.

  The data source is the Scottish Household Survey.

  For Sweden, the most recent information available is from 2005, when 15.9% of those aged 15+ smoked. Data is not available by sex.

  The data source is the Health for All Database, which is hosted by the Scottish Public Health Observatory (ScotPHO).

Sport

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice ministers or other public authorities received from the emergency services including the police about holding a bonspiel on the Lake of Menteith.

Kenny MacAskill: The decision on whether to hold a bonspiel was a matter for the Royal Caledonian Curling Club not ministers so the emergency services did not provide any such advice to ministers.

Sport

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice was issued by the police or other emergency services about holding a bonspiel on the Lake of Menteith.

Kenny MacAskill: I understand that the Royal Caledonian Curling Club held two meetings with Central Scotland Police and other public agencies to discuss holding a bonspiel, or Grand Match, on the Lake of Menteith. The police and other emergency services gave advice about safety issues arising from the holding of such an event. The Royal Caledonian Curling Club subsequently decided not to proceed with the event. The Scottish Government was not involved in those discussions and the precise nature of any advice given is a matter for those who attended the meetings.

Sport

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what powers the police have to stop a bonspiel going ahead on the Lake of Menteith.

Kenny MacAskill: The police do not have any specified powers to stop such an event. The onus is on event organisers to run a safe event.

Sport

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what power or legislation was invoked in preventing the proposed bonspiel going ahead on the Lake of Menteith this year.

Kenny MacAskill: No power or legislation was invoked to prevent the proposed bonspiel on Lake of Menteith. The Royal Curling Club took the decision not to go ahead.